With the proliferation of wireless communication systems, compatible handheld communication devices are becoming more prevalent, as well as advanced. Handheld communication devices typically include a housing for accommodating internal components such as a processor and a battery, a keyboard on a front face of the device, a display screen typically adjacent to the keyboard, and a navigational input, among other things.
To protect the display or the keyboards, conventional communication devices have been constructed as a hinged clamshell design (e.g., a “flip-phone” design) or a slide design. In hinged clamshell designs, the communication device includes a first housing and a second housing which are pivotally coupled together with the communication device being fully functional when the communication device is in an open configuration, e.g., when the first and second housing are not positioned one upon the other. Similarly in slide designs, the communication device includes a first housing and a second housing with one housing residing above the other housing, with the communication device being fully functional when one of the housing slides relative to the other housing. In conventional hinged clamshell and slide configurations, the keyboards are typically flush or just below the top surface of the housing of the communication devices to provide sufficient space to close the communication devices. As a result, the keyboards may be lower than keyboards on conventional communication devices which can be awkward for a user. In addition, the sides of the housing may interfere with a user while attempting to use the keyboard.